Garden City taxes go down, slightly, beginning July 1

Garden City Council approved a tax rate that begins in July and is a bit lower than the previous year.

The fiscal year is from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. The Garden City budget was balanced at $16.1 million.

The levies are as follows:

• 13.8403 mills for general operating purposes;

• 0.820 mills for garbage and rubbish collection, as well as disposal fees;

• 2.9745 mills for a bond debt on a lawsuit judgment;

• 1.00 mill for the Garden City Public Library, and

• 3.500 mills for police and fire operations.

All the rates stayed the same, except for the millage on lawsuit judgment debt, which went from 3.3614 mills last year to slightly lower at 2.975 mills this year.

The total millage rate is 19.1603 mills for every $1,000 of taxable valuation on Garden City property. For instance, a house valued at $150,000 has a taxable value of $75,000. The property taxes would be $1,437.

Some of the biggest city revenues include general property taxes, which generated $7.5 million; business licenses and permits, which brought in $30,000; state shared revenue was $3.8 million and grants amounted to $1.5 million.